Device for feeding air to fire boxes



Mar. 3, 1925. 1,528,264

U. S. G. PEIFER DEVICE FOR FEEDING AIR TO FIRE BOXES Filed Jan. 22, 1921.

. door for the foregoing purpose.

Patented Mar. 1925 UNITED swvregs PATENT or 1,528,264 Face.

oLYssEs s, e. reIr n-, or warsonrowlv, PENNSYLVANIA.

, i DEVICE FOR FEEDING AIR TO'FIR-E BOXES.

Application filed-Tannery 22, 1921.. Serial No. 39,235.

To all whom it may concern Be it known thatl, Unrssns S. G. Pnirnn. a citizen of the United States, residing at atsontown, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful: Improvements in Devices for Feeding Air to Fire Boxes, of which the followingis a specification. r

This invention relates to devices for feed ing air to the the boxes of stoves, steam, hot water, hot air, vapor, and other heaters for buildings, and to steam boiler furnaces and the like. The invention has particular reference, however, to that general class of air feeders which is carried by the door of the heater or boiler furnace and is adapted to admit air, under the usual draft of the heater or furnace, supplemented-by the inwhich will be free from defects heretofore inhering in these devices, slmple and easy. 7 to manufacture, capable-of quick installation by any one, capable of adjustment according to the size. of'the fire box and the distance the door is located from the interior thereof to meet differences in different kinds of heaters, and which will. not warp, may be quickly and easily cleaned, and will spray the air in an efficient manner. My invention does away withthe complicated cellular or tortuous passage fea-.

tures which have heretofore been thought to be necessary in devices of this character and, due to its simple form, it is capable of being cast easily and cheaply and of being:

taken apart, without removal from the door of the fire box, when the accumulation of dust or carbon necessitates cleaning and I thereby overcome the serious defect of air feeders of thisclass which have a tortuous passage or cellular construction as they soon clog and become useless.

,. Another: improved feature resides in the provision of an adjustable connection between the air feeder and the door of the furnace or heater whereby the deyice may be positioned to deliver the air where best adapted to promote combustion of the unconsumed carbon rising fromthe fuel, ac-

cording to the shape and dimensions of the fire box and the distance the door is located from the interior of said fire box; Different heaters vary widely in the foregoing respects and by the provision of an adjustable connection such as described, my air feeder .is adapted to'be applied to a-ny'of thecommercial makesof hot water, air, or steam heaters and to be adjusted by the user or results may be obtained.

The improved construction resorted to is tubular,with a bell shaped air distributing head having a removable inner cone which vwhoever installsv the device so that the best is susceptible of adjustment and of removal.

The stem of the feeder has a relatively long screw threaded part provided with nuts which lie on opposite sides of the door of the fire box and clamp the device to said door beside providing for any desired ad-r justment as previously explained. The form of the feeder adapts it to resist warping from the heat to which it issubject. A removable cone located inside the bell shaped inner end of the device causes the.

air to flow in a hollow sheet into the space above the fuel. This cone has a screw threaded stem which engages screw threads in a bridge, or spider inside the device and it is provided with means, for instance a polygonal socket, to receive a polygonal spanner or tool for unscrewing it orscrewing it in position. The cone is preferably provided with external ribs which act as spacers to engage'the inside of the bell shape end of the device. v

The preferred embodiment of the inventionis described hereinafter and shown in the accompanying drawings but I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to vdetails of construction except where/included in the appended claims which recite the novel features of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, showing a heater for a hot water domestic or house system, illustratingmy improved air feeder applied to'the door of the fire box thereof. f

Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section showing the invention on an enlarged scale as applied to the door of the fire box although it is to be understood that the actual air feeder is usually much larger than the showing of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 3 a detail perspective view of the cone.

In Fig. 1 I have shown at 1 a hot water heater for a hot water system of a building, said heater having a fire box 2 and a door 3 through which the feul is introduced into the fire box, as usual.

My improved air feeder is shown generally at 4t and is carried bodily by the door 3 so that when the door 3 is closed the device projects into the fire box 2, over the fuel therein and is subject to the heat derived from combustion and adapted to deliver outer air to the fire box, above the fuel, as shown by the arrows. WVhen the door 3 is opened, the air feeder 4 swings outwardly with said door, leaving the fuel opening free so that coal may be thrown into the fire box. Furthermore, when the door is opened, both ends of the air feeder are capable of inspection and cleaning.

To apply the air feeder to the door 3 it is only necessary to provide an opening, by drilling, or otherwise, a hole in the door of such size that the stem of the feeder may be passed through said hole. Such a hole or opening is shown at 5.

The air feeder 4 is tubular for the major portion of its length and is provided with a relatively long screw threaded part 10 on its exterior on which there are large clampingnuts 11, 12 which, after the device has been properly positioned, are tightened to clamp against the opposite faces of the door 3. It will be observed, however, that adjustment within relatively wide limits is possible by loosening the nuts 11, 12 and resetting the device. Furthermore, the provision of the nuts and the screw threaded part 10 enables the device to be properly set when applied to the usual commercial hot water heaters, steam heaters, hot air furnaces, etc., for the purpose of delivering the air to the proper point within the fire box 2 so that the heated air supplied by the device to the fire box will very materially assist combustion of the large volume of unconsumed products of combustion and thus increase the efiiciency of the fuel.

The inner end of the air feeder 4 is provided with a flared or bell shaped air distributing head 13 whichmay be thickened as desired to resist warpingfrom the heat. In that connection, it will be noted that the tubular form of the air feeder and the shape of the mouth 13 minimizes the tendency of the device to warp, thereby overcoming a serious defect in previous air feeders of this general class.

A cone 14 fitting inside the bell 13 serves as a spreader for the air so that the air is sues in a hollow or cone-like sheet from between the cone and the bell. The cone is provided with any suitable means for its detachable connection to the air feeder. I have shown a screw threaded lug or stem 15 which is screwed into a bridge or spider 20 on the interior of the air feeder. The cone 14L has lugs or ribs 21 which abut the inner wall of the bell 13 to maintain the proper spacing between the outer surface of the cone and the inner surface of the bell. Any suitable socket 22, or other means, may be provided on the cone 14 for the application of a spanner, tool, or other means for screwing up or unscrewing the cone 14:. 3

By removing the cone 14, the entire interior of the air feeder is open for cleaning which may be quickly and easily accomplished. The removal of the cone also enables soot and crust to be readily taken off therefrom. I thereby overcome a defect incident to earlier air feeders which have been incapable of cleaning andhave become useless after a certain period of use.

The draft of theheater or furnace causes the outer air to enter the outer end of the air feeder and to discharge from the inner end thereof as shown by the arrows. The device becomes very hot as it is subject to the heat from the fuel and this causes an inductive effect on the air whereby the air is drawn into the device. When the heater is under draft the outer air enters the air feeder under the combined pulling action of the draft and the inductive action aforesaid. When the drafts of the heater are closed as, for instance, at night, the temperature of the air feeder is still sufficiently high due to its being subject to the heat to cause air to flow in and be distributed in the fire box and consequently while little fuel is consumed at that time, the combustion is so improved due to the consumption of the products of combustion rising from the fuel, that the heater keeps the building in quite a warm condition, My invention, consequently, acts as a fuel economizer whether the heater be subject to draft or the draft is shut off.

I claim:

Thecombination with the door of a fire box of a furnace or heater, provided with an opening, of an elongated tubular airfeeder which extends through said opening and is provided with exterior screw threads, clamping nuts located on said air feeder on opposite sides of the door and engaged with the screw threads aforesaid, said nuts engaging the inner and outer faces of the door and clamping the air feeder to the door in an adjustable manner so that, while the air feederis bodily carried by the door and adapted to move therewith, it is also capable of adjustment through the opening in the door said tubular air feeder being provided at its inner end with a flared head adapted to be located over the fire in the heater or furnace when the door is closed and to be swung clear of the fire When the door is open, said flared head containing a detachable cone shaped imperforate spreader Whose base is arranged outermost and Whose outer surface is provided With lugs engaging the inner surface of the flared head, said spreader caus 10 ing distribution of the air in the form of a hollow cone.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ULYSSES S, G, PEIFER. 

